FinTech Wales member Validient secures £300,000 investment

A Newport-based tech business that is helping the professional services sector to keep up with increasing regulatory compliance has secured a second investment of £200,000 from the Development Bank of Wales and £100,000 from Wesley Clover.

Validient was established by young entrepreneurs Ieuan Leigh, Katie Turnbull, Thomas Elliott and Gareth Williams after completing the Alacrity Foundation programme in 2021. The unique entrepreneurship course combines graduate entrepreneurs with world-class mentors to create the next generation of technology companies.

The founders of Validient had the support of Capital Law as strategic partners during the 15-month programme and now provide an automated compliance management and due diligence system for law firms and regulated businesses throughout the UK. Validient transforms client-facing processes for the professional services industry by providing identity and document verification, biometric facial recognition, anti-money laundering checks, risk assessments, ongoing due diligence, company ownership structures, and bespoke client portals along with politically exposed person checks.

This is the second investment for Validient by the Development Bank and Wesley Clover who, together, have already invested £140,000. The fast growth business is the only Welsh tech company to get a place on the LawtechUK Programme, supporting UK-wide expansion plans.

Ieuan Leigh is the Chief Executive of Validient. He said: “As a legal technology business, we offer compliance management software that allows regulated businesses to save time and reduce costs with end-to-end compliance requirements.

“Validient enables regulated firms to replace their existing manual and often paper-based client risk assessments and compliance actions with an easy-to-use all-in-one platform. This enables legal teams to have clearer oversight of who they are doing business with, keeping the community safe from fraudsters and money launderers.

“The tech ecosystem in Wales is so supportive and collaborative. Having met through Alacrity, we’ve had access to the most incredible help and guidance including investment funding from the Development Bank and Wesley Clover that will enable us to further develop our product and invest in our sales resource. Securing this investment early in our development is vital  to  us becoming  the leading compliance management system on the market.”

Hannah Mallen, an Assistant Investment Executive with the Development Bank said: “With a rapidly growing UK-wide client base, Validient streamlines the entire onboarding and engagement process for law firms. It improves internal processes and client facing processes thereby increasing efficiency and reducing cost.

“As a young and exciting business, with a hugely dynamic team, Validient is gaining great traction in the market and we’re delighted to be supporting them on their journey with funding from our Wales Technology Seed Fund.  Our support and investment will enable the business to grow, and we wish the business every success for the future.”

The investment for Validient came from the £20 million Wales Technology Seed Fund II that is financed by the Welsh Government. Equity investments between £50,000 and £350,000 are available for Welsh tech businesses and those willing to relocate to Wales at a proof-of-concept stage.

Left to Right – Thomas Elliott, Ieuan Leigh, Gareth Williams, Hannah Mallen (Development Bank of Wales) and Katie Turnbull.